Collection Resources

George Mason University partnered with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to help communities within Maryland express their concerns on climate change, public health and energy sources.

This guide explains how the United States needs to consider the inevitability of extreme weather as it relates to climate change. States at Risk released a report card using a national analysis of state level preparedness for weather–related threats facing Americans.

A report by the Understanding Risk Research Group at Cardiff University explores public perceptions of climate change following a series of severe flooding events in the U.K. during the winter of 2013/2014.

This is a global climate ‘state of the union’ that looks at the climate trends for the last decade and compares them to historical averages, finding that the last decade was one of increasing extreme events.

A national survey from Yale and George Mason University explores public opinion on the relationship between extreme weather and climate change, with a focus on the role of how personal experience with severe events influences perception.

National surveys conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College before and after Superstorm Sandy explore how personal experiences of weather events affect public perceptions of global warming.

A report that provides an analysis of precipitation records over the last six decades, as well as policy recommendations to reduce the pollution that causes global warming and protect communities from more frequent and intense precipitation events.

A report from the Center for American Progress reviews the most damaging extreme weather events in the US over the past two years and how climate change is increasing their frequency and severity, as well as why middle- and lower-income Americans are disproportionately harmed by extreme weather.

A new survey from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication looks at Americans' perceptions of extreme weather events and their perceived relationship to global warming.

A report from Oxfam draws on new research that paints a startling view of the impacts of extreme weather on international staple crop prices, suggesting that current research is underestimating the implications of climate change on food insecurity.

A New York Times opinion piece that describes how this summer's record-breaking weather, including heat waves and severe drought conditions, has heightened media attention and public concern about climate change.

A media analysis of wildfire coverage in July 2012 finds that while more outlets mentioned climate change than in previous months, many reports failed to communicate the connection between climate change and wildfire risk.

In a study of seasonal mean temperature anomalies, prominent climate scientist James Hansen asserts that the variability of local weather is the greatest barrier to public recognition of climate change.

In a related Washington Post article, he describes how his earlier predictions about climate change were too optimistic and that his new research has revealed a "stunning increase" in the frequency and severity of extreme weather.

An analysis from Media Matters on the frequency of climate change references within news coverage of the recent Western wildfires. The report also includes perspectives from scientists on whether journalists should communicate the link between climate change and wildfire risk.

A nationally representative survey found that a large majority of Americans say they personally experienced an extreme weather event in the past year and that the weather in their own local area and across the U.S. is getting worse as a result of global warming.

With continued warming comes climate impacts that affect the health and safety of our families and communities, especially seniors, children and low-income populations. Panelists Makani Themba (Higher Ground Change Strategies), Tzeporah Berman (York University) and Jason Funk (Union of Concerned Scientists) discuss how communicators can illustrate these risks and the need to prepare for extreme heat and wildfire.

Americans largely accept that climate disruption is happening, yet for many, the actual threat still feels distant and removed from their daily lives. With extreme weather events increasing in frequency and severity, there is a growing need to convey the risks and prepare our communities to withstand climate impacts. However, media coverage often fails to connect the dots between extreme weather and climate disruption, which limits the public’s understanding of potential solutions.

In conjunction with the IPCC’s release of its report on managing the risks of extreme weather, Climate Access presents exclusive interviews with two experts on the importance of the findings and how climate communicators should incorporate them into their work.

Climate Access is an initiative of The Resource Innovation Group's Social Capital Project. We are grateful to our founding partners, the Stonehouse Standing Circle and the Rutgers Initiative on Climate and Society.